The recent tightening of credit by banks has caused difficulties for many citizens and small-medium enterprises. In order to obtain loans, some people have tried to pull strings and go through backdoor channels, only to end up with nothing to show for it. Others have had to resort to private lending with interest rates as high as 15%. However, as journalists learned recently from interviews, personal or SME loans need not be limited to the "old ways" of bank loans or private loans. In fact, pawnshops in Beijing can also play a role in lending.